26 May to 25 November 2018Museum of Architecture and Design presents the project Living with Water by an international team of architects and researchers, curated by Matevž Čelik and supported by the Ministry of Culture, featuring two installations and a publication, edited by Nina Granda, Matevž Granda and team, as the Slovene representative in the Slovenian Pavilion, at the International Architecture Exhibition - la Biennale di Venezia at Arsenale in Venice, Italyprogrammeorganiserinfomore

28 May to 27 November 2016Home at Arsenale, a bespoke wooden library by Dekleva Gregorič Arhitekti, co-organised by the Museum of Architecture and Design in Ljubljana, and supported by the Ministry of Culture), as a Slovene representative at the 15th International Architecture Exhibition - la Biennale di Venezia at Arsenale in Venice, Italyprogramme

5 May to 22 November 2015UTTER / The violent necessity for the embodied presence of hope, a project by JAŠA produced by Maribor Art Gallery in collaboration with WEARE Production, supported by the Ministry of Culture) at the La Biennale di Venezia International Art Exhibition at Arsenale in Venice, Italyprogramme

6 June to 23 November 2014The project The Problem of Space Travel - Supre: Architecture by the Cultural Centre of European Space Technologies (KSEVT) as the Slovene representative at the 14th International Architecture Exhibition - la Biennale di Venezia, supported by the Ministry of Culture, at Pavilion at the Arsenale in Venice, Italyprogramme

The Ministry of Culture is responsible for regulating those matters in the sphere of culture which are in the public interest. These include: involvement in the coordinated cultural development of Slovenia; protection of the cultural heritage; ensuring the plurality of the media landscape; providing suitable conditions for the creation; communication and accessibility of cultural assets; guaranteeing the special cultural rights of minorities; international cooperation in the sphere of culture; and the promotion of culture at home and abroad.

Contents

Background

The Ministry of Culture was founded in June 1991 on the basis of the Organisation and Competence of the Republic Administration Act. Under this Act, the existing Republic Secretariat for Culture continued its work as the Ministry of Culture and took over its functions and staff. The existing Republic Secretary for Culture became the Minister for Culture. After Slovenia's proclamation of independence, the Republic of Slovenia gained its first Minister for Culture on 28 June 1991, the day the Act entered into force.

In February 2012 the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport was established, merging the Ministry of Education and Sport, the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology and the Ministry of Culture. In March 2013 the Ministry of Culture has been re-established.

Tasks

It is the task of the ministry to provide suitable opportunities for cultural creation and the protection of the cultural heritage. To this end, the Ministry works on the basis of the three main principles of cultural policy: quality, accessibility, and diversity. Undoubtedly the first task of the Ministry is to provide suitable opportunities for top-level creativity in cultural spheres. Equally important is the guaranteeing of the greatest possible accessibility of cultural assets, since the right to culture ranks among fundamental human rights. Closely connected to these two principles is the attention that the Ministry of Culture devotes to cultural diversity. Additionally, the Ministry protects the right to freedom of expression in the media and ensures the media pluralism.

On the state level, the Ministry of Culture is responsible for the distribution of the majority of public funds for culture (circa 90%). Total public cultural expenditure in 2015 amounted to approximately 275 million EUR and corresponded to 0,7 % of the GDP.

Resolution on the National Programme for Culture 2014–2017

In September 2013 the Government of the Republic of Slovenia agreed on the draft Resolution on National Programme for Culture 2014–2017, a key document for the area of culture that has been prepared by the Ministry of Culture. The resolution has updated the culturaly policy. It includes planned investments in culture infrastructure and sets goals and priorities, a novelty presents a chapter on the labour market in the cultural sector that defines the first guidelines for employment strategies. The number of those employed in the cultural sector should be increased by 2017, and the measures promote employment in NGOs, in the private sector and self-employment.

Funding

Where funding of public institutions is concerned, there are special calls for archive institutions and libraries, for movable cultural heritage institutions (mostly museums), for unmovable cultural heritage projects (investments in infrastructure) and for audio-visual programmes. All public state cultural institutions are required to present their following year's programmes to the Ministry of Culture, which then decides on their annual subsidy according to the annual budget.

For non-governmental organisations, the Ministry announces (usually in Autumn) a call for public cultural programmes and projects. From amongst applicants in various disciplines 32 cultural programme organisers and producers were selected to sign 4-year contracts for the period 2014–2017, most of them professional support organisations or the producers running a venue or festival platforms. In addition there is a bid for the 2-year authorial projects and an annual bid for artistic projects in all art disciplines, which is open also to smaller organisations and individual artists.

Every year there is also a special call for cultural activities by the Italian and Hungarian ethnic minorities, the Romany community and other ethnic minority groups and immigrants in the Republic of Slovenia.

International cooperation

International projects and festivals are supported through the programme and project public calls for producers. A special calls are open for the organisers/curators of the Venice Biennale and Venice Biennale of Architecture.

The Ministry is a permanent guest of the EUNIC Slovenia network of the European Union National Institutes for Culture in Slovenia, and the member of the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA).

Ministry of Culture supports participation of Slovene young talents in the European Union Youth Orchestra (EUYO).